By Alex Himel, VP of Local

Over 1.6 billion people around the world are connected to a small business on Facebook. People and businesses alike have told us they want even easier ways to connect, so today we’re:

Updating Pages: We’re redesigning Pages on mobile to make it even easier for people to interact with local businesses and find what they need most. For example, you can make a reservation at a restaurant; book an appointment at a salon; or see most recent photos, upcoming Events, and Offers. You can also now see Stories on Pages to get to know the people behind the business. Making Recommendations from your community more helpful: People use Recommendations to ask their communities where to go, where to eat, or where to shop. We’re making those Recommendations more prominent on Pages. Continuing to build Events: 700 million people use Facebook Events each month to find things to do in their communities. This includes organizations like CUESA, a local agricultural nonprofit, that uses Events to connect local farms with shoppers in person. And if you want to get tickets to an event, you can buy them right from the Event on Facebook. Events that sell tickets directly on Facebook have seen two times more people getting tickets than when they’re ticketed on a website alone. Expanding our jobs tool to help more people find work: Local businesses create more than 60% of new jobs. We want to help people find those jobs and help local businesses hire the right people, so we’re expanding our job application tool to everywhere in the world. Taking steps to make finding a local spot quicker: You can now browse a “Local” section in your Facebook app and a standalone Facebook Local app for businesses around you, see what places are most recommended, and check out which events your friends are attending.

Local communities are built, grown and sustained by people. People like your neighbors, your friends and your favorite local business owners. On Facebook, there are more than 80 million small businesses using our free business tools. Those tools are helping people and businesses connect like:

Courtney and Marc Jackson from Buffalo, New York, who have had a weekly date night at their favorite Mexican place, Lloyd Taco, since it started as a food truck in 2010. The couple follows Lloyd’s Facebook Page for updates about its restaurants, events and specials. They got to know their favorite spot so well, Marc proposed with a Lloyd takeout box, Lloyd catered their rehearsal dinner, and they took wedding photos at the restaurant on their big day where they were met with champagne. “Our love story wouldn’t be what it is without Lloyd, and Facebook is what made getting to know our favorite restaurant so well possible,” Marc said. Sasa Sushi in Tottori, Japan, owner Mieko Inada needed to bring in new customers, so she made a Facebook Page in 2012. “I was a 62-year-old widow with no computer experience when I started using Facebook to connect with our customers,” Mieko said. “I cherish the connections Facebook brings me every day.” More than 50% of Sasa Sushi’s new customers discover it on Facebook.

These are more steps we’re taking to make connecting with local businesses easier on Facebook. Because when businesses succeed, communities thrive.

More info on how to grow your business with Pages on the Facebook Business blog.